CD Reviews

NEAR EQUAL SEQUEL

Jukebox Dave | RECORD TOWN, USA | 10/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some might suggest that one Foghat anthology was sufficient, but if you are a die-hard fan of the British boogie boys and their hamfisted hits, everything that missed the cut on BEST OF is here for the partyin'. Besides perhaps obligatory live takes on two of their biggest triumphs FOOL FOR THE CITY and I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU (available on volume one in their original versions), you get a fistful of near misses like the pumped up RNB remakes SOMEBODY'S BEEN SLEEPIN' IN MY BED and SLIPPED, TRIPPED, AND FELL IN LOVE, plus raucous readings of Sun Records shaker UBANGI STOMP and Buddy Holly's immortal THAT'LL BE THE DAY. Though personnel changes (notably the exit of slide guitarist Rod Price) led to a streamlining of the well tread Foghat sound, LIVE NOW-PAY LATER and STRANGER IN MY HOME TOWN remain catchy singles efforts. And NOTHIN' sounds better blastin' through the car speakers of your choice than WHAT A SHAME, a simply monstrous '73 slab of high octane rock that loudly demonstrates why Foghat, like a six-pack, goes down easily and leaves you feeling pretty durn good. RATING: FOUR BIC LIGHTERS"

Foghat - A Nice Companion To Volume 1

Steven Sly | Kalamazoo, MI United States | 03/21/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Since most of Foghat's best known material was included in the volume 1 best of set, volume 2 contains mostly lesser known songs that vary in quality. While volume 1 only contained material up through the "Boogie Hotel" album in 1979, Vol 2 includes cuts from latter albums "Tight Shoes", "In The Mood For Something Rude" "Girls To Chat And Boys To Bounce", and "Zig Zag Walk". These were lean years for Foghat as album sales took a nose dive during this time period and the band eventually called it quits (for a while anyway) after "Zig Zag Walk" was released. There were still some decent songs from these albums though, and several of them are included in this collection. The album also includes live versions of two of their biggest hits "Fool For The City" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You". Overall this makes a nice companion piece to Volume 1. The band do quite a few covers on this one including "Ubangi Stomp", "Take Me To The River", and "Sweet Home Chicago", all done well in the patented Foghat style. The tracks from the latter albums incorporate a bit of a new wave style into the traditional Foghat sound and it works quite well. This album is currently out of print, but available used."